UC Davis Apartment Explosion Now a Criminal Investigation, Still a Mystery

UC Davis Apartment Explosion Now a Criminal Investigation, Still a Mystery

DAVIS-

Here are the clues: crime scene tape and a suspicious looking ventilation system.

“There was a smell. There was a funky smell,” said UC Davis student Aaron Illathu.

But what caused the explosion? The one person injured is a researcher at UC Davis.

Was this some kind of mad science experiment gone wrong? Was he trying to cook up some kind of drug? Was he planning something? Was there a bomb?

Investigators aren’t saying much of anything.

“They said they found like zinc pipes. You just don’t know what that means or what it could be used for,” Illathu said.

Cops are keeping tight lipped about what sort of substances they found, but they hint at how the investigation is being handled.

“A criminal investigation, based on the amount of items found in the apartment” said UC Davis Police Chief Matt Carmichael.

Nobody has been charged and nobody is in custody. Still, cops took the situation very seriously. Responding agencies included two separate bomb squads, FBI, ATF, a chemist from the ATF, the fire dept and a whole slew of police.

“We evacuated 5 buildings,” Carmichael said.

That affected about 74 people, including some children.

Whatever it was that was found in the apartment was deemed too dangerous to move and it was destroyed on scene.

“That ended up being a total of eight explosions,” Carmichael told reporters.

Eventually, residents were allowed back in to their homes and after the 20-plus hour ordeal. Police want people to know one thing: the area is now safe.

3 comments

sabra

mhamiltonphoto

Not in custody? Can't say his location??? Is he a fugitive???? I live in Davis. This is not right. No one knows anything, but that there was an explosion on campus and a huge explosion you could hear across town last night!! ???